Carton cover



Oct. 10, 1933. Q Q EGGEBRECHT 1,929,811

CARTON COVER Filed Deo. l, 1932 Patented Oct. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE CARTON COVER Application December 1, 1932. Serial No. 645,208

9 Claims.

The carton of the present invention is intended primarily as a receptacle for ice cream or the like, and possesses particular advantage in connection with the lling of such packages by automatic machinery. In such circumstances it is necessary that the top of the carton be of a form and, character which enables it to be inserted quickly and withstand the air pressure which is instantly created in the insertion of the top into the carton, so that the top will not be forced upwardly by the entrapped air after the package has been filled. The invention, however, is one which is of value in any case in which it is desired to provide means for positively locking the cover against easy or accidental withdrawal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form of locking means which can be readily formed in the manipulation of the blanks from which the carton and its cover are formed, and which can be provided Without dieing out or positively removing any of the stock from which the blanks are formed, and which will result in the provision of a locking tongue on the cover adapted to register and engage with a recess in the wall of the carton when the parts are assembled and Will afford sufficient resistance against withdrawal to subserve the purposes above set forth.

Further objects and details of the invention will appear from the description thereof, in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, Wherein,-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ice cream carton and cover provided with the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cover blank before insertion;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detailshowing the locking features in assembled relation; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

The box or carton which serves for purposes of illustration is of the character shown in Letters Patent No. 1,877,213, issued September 13, 1932, although the particular features of the present invention are not in any way limited to a carton thus constructed.

As shown, the carton is so formed as to afford opposing walls 10, which may conveniently be termedthe side walls, of a single thickness `of material, such as paper board or the like, and what may conveniently be termed end walls, each comprising an inner layer 11 and an overlapped or outer layer 12 glued or cemented together to yline afford a double thickness for each of the end walls. It will be understood that the terms side walls and end walls are merely used for convenience of expression, since, as shown, the carton may be square or any other desired configuration.

The carton further comprises an elevated bottom 13 and a surrounding base margin 14, which may if desired be constructed in accordance with the principles set forth in Patent No. 1,877,213, or otherwise formed, and it is not deemed necessary to further describe the specific construction of the carton which constitutes the body of the completed package.

The cover of the carton, which more particularlyA constitutes the subject matter of the present invention, is formed from a blank comprising a rectangular body portion 15 and rectangular edge aps 16-16 and 17-17, respectively. The edge aps 16-16 are adapted to be bent up- Wardly along folding lines 18-18, and the flaps 17--17 are adapted to be bent upwardly along folding lines 1919.

Each of the folding lines 19 is interrupted in the center by the provision of a locking tongue 20, whichlextends outwardly beyond the folding line, and is cut free from the associated flap 17 along a line of slitting 21, which in the form shown/ gives to the tongue a rectangular configuration.

The body of the box or carton, near its upper open edge, is provided with an inwardly pressed bead 22 which furnishes a ledge or shoulder for limiting the inward thrust of the body 15 of the cover, so that when the cover is in position with the edge flaps 16 and 17 folded upwardly, as in Fig. ,5,the cover will bermly supported on the ledge or shoulder.`

`'Ihe bead or ledge 22 is interrupted on each of the double wall sides of the carton by the provision of an outwardly extending protuberance 2.3, which on the inner side furnishes a recess 24 in the nature of a latch keeper, which is adapted to receive the registering locking tongue 20, and when the flaps 17 are bent upwardly along the folding lines 19, the tongues will extend outwardly beyond the side faces of. the cover and furnish projections adapted under pressure to distend the double side walls sufficiently to permit the tongues to enter and engage the recesses,

thumb and finger, and thus exert suicient pull to release the tongues from locking engagement.

The arrangement is one which permits the cover blanks to be readily manipulated by automatic filling machinery and to be driven to place by a plunger action after the carton has been filled with ice cream or other commodity, which plunger action serves to bend up the cover flaps into substantially right angle relation to the body of the cover and in position to bring the free edges of the cover naps into substantially flush relation with the surrounding margin of the carton.

The operation also serves to bring the tongues into locking relation, so that pressure of air which may be entrapped beneath the cover during the inserting operation will have no effect in lifting the cover from its intended position. Furthermore, the lock thus afforded will prevent accidental displacement of the cover and serve to preserve the contents intact until removal of the cover, by the application of sufficient tension to secure disengagement of the locking elements.

The method of forming the keeper or rfi-cess possesses special advantage, in that the ,fnaterial of the double walls is displaced withrut being positively died out or removed, so that the integrity of both layers of the wall is preserved and the forming operation simplified and the contents better preserved against ingress of air or leakage, which would be the case if slots, perforations, or the like, were formed in either or both of the wall constituents.

I claim:

l. The combination of a box body having a wall provided with a keeper recess formed by outwardly distending the material of the wall without perforating the saine. and a cover configured to t snugly within the confines of the box body and having an outwardly projecting tongue adapted when the cover is inserted to enter and engage the keeper recess to lock the cover, the cover being formed to afford a body portion and outwardly extending flap portions adapted upon insertion cf the cover to be bent upwardly along folding lines to lie within the walls of the box body and adjacent thereto, and the tongue being formed by slitting of the material adjacent one of the folding lines to permit the tongue to project outwardly beyond the plane of the associated flap when inserted and folded upwardly.

2. rIhe combination of a box body having in part opposed walls of a double thickness of material, each of said walls having therein a recess formed by outward protrusion of the double walls without perforation thereof. and a cover consisting of a body portion adapted to t snugly with` in the confines of the box walls, and flap portions connected to the cover body along folding lines and adapted when inserted to be bent upwardly to lie in adjacent relation to the contiguous body walls, the opposed flaps being cut adjacent the folding lines to afford outwardly extending unfolded tongues adapicd upon insertion of the cover to be forced into and engage with the recesses to lock the cover in place.

3. The combination of a box body having in part opposed walls of a double thickness of material, each of said walls having therein a recess formed by outward protrusion of the double walls without perforation thereof. and a cover consisting of a body portion adapted to lit snugly within the confines of the box walls, and iiap portions connected to the cover body along folding lines and adapted when inserted to be bent upwardly to lie in adjacent relation to the contiguous body walls, the opposed flaps being out adjacent the folding lines to afford outwardly extending unfolded tongues adapted upon insertion of the cover to be forced into and engage with\the recesses to lock the cover in place, and the upper edge of the box wall being provided with a notch positioned to expose a contiguous cover flap to permit grasping thereof for removal of the cover.

4. The combination of a box provided with a wall having near its upper margin a surrounding inwardly protruding bead furnishing a ledge, the bead being interrupted by the provision of an outwardly protruding imperforate portion affording an inwardly vopening recess constituting a keeper, a cover consisting of a body portion and flaps connected thereto along folding lines and adapted upon insertion of the cover to be folded upwardly to lie snugly within the contiguous body walls, with the body portion supported upon the ledge afforded by the inwardly protruding bead, and one of the aps being slitted adjacent the folding line to furnish a tongue extending outwardly beyond the folding line and adapted upon insertion of the cover to enter the keeper and lock the cover.

5. The combination of a box body of rectangular form comprising opposed walls of a single thickness of material and connecting opposed walls of a double thickness of material, the box body having formed near its upper edge an inwardly protruding surrounding bead furnishing a ledge, the bead being interrupted by the provision of outwardly protruding imperforate portions affording inwardly opening slots constituting keepers, and a rectangular cover having marginal portions positioned when the cover is inserted to lie snugly against the adjacent body walls with the edge of the cover body resting upon the body ledge, the material of certain of |the marginal portions being out free adjacent the edges of the cover body to furnish outwardly projecting tongues adapted upon insertion of the cover to engage and lock within the associated keepers.

6. The combination of box body of rectangular form comprising opposed walls of a single thickness of material and connecting opposed walls of a double thickness cf material, the box body having formed near its upper edge an inwardly protruding surrounding bead furnishing a` ledge, the bead at points within the double body walls being interrupted by the. provision of outwardly protruding iniperforate portions affording inwardly opening slots constituting keepers, and a rectangular cover having marginal portions positioned when the cover is inserted to lic snugly against the adjacentl body walls with the edge of the cover body resting upon the body ledge, the material of certain of the marginal portions being cut free adjacent the edges of the cover body to furnish outwardly projecting tongues adapted upon insertion of the cover to engage and lock within the associated keepers.

7. The combination of a box body of rectangular form comprising opposed walls of a single thickness of material and connecting opposed walls of a double thickness of material, the box body having formed near its upper edge an inwardly protruding surrounding bead furnishing a ledge, the bead at points within the double body walls being interrupted by the provision of outwardly protrudingl irnperforate portions affording inwardly opening slots constituting keepers,

and a rectangular cover having marginal portions positioned when the cover is inserted to lie snugly against the adjacent body walls with the edge of the cover body resting upon the body ledge, the material of certain of the marginal portions being cut free adjacent the edges of the cover body to furnish outwardly projecting tongues adapted upon insertion of the cover to engage and lock within the associated keepers, the upper edge of one of the single body walls being notched to permit grasping of the exposed marginalportion of the cover for removal thereof.

8. The combination of a box body of rectangular form comprising opposed wallsof a single thickness of materia! and connecting opposed walls of a double thickness of material, `the box body having formed near its upper edge an lnwardly protruding integrally formed surrounding bead furnishing a ledge, the bead at points within the double body walls being interrupted by the provision of outwardly protruding imperforate portions affording inwardly opening recesses constituting keepers, and'a rectangular cover resting upon the body ledge, and having outwardly projecting tongues adapted upon insertion of the cover to engage and lock within the associated keepers.

9. The combination of a rectangular box body of paper board having a wall provided within its margin with a keeper recess formed by outwardly 

